1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a sleeve for use in retaining warmth in a wearer's arm and shoulder. More specifically, the invention relates to an arm warmth retaining sleeve providing improved wearer comfort, particularly when worn while the wearer engages in athletic activities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been widely recognized that warm muscles generally perform better than cold ones; therefore, athletes typically "warm up" prior to engaging in their respective athletic activities. For example, basketball players generally shoot a number of baskets and dribble the basketball around for a period of time prior to the start of a game, in order to loosen and warm their muscles prior to exerting them maximally during game play. Similarly baseball players, and particularly pitchers, throw a number of balls prior to their entry into the game in order to warm up their arm muscles prior to play. Not only do the warmed-up muscles perform better during the activity than cold ones, but the thus-warmed muscles have a reduced tendency to become strained or otherwise injured. For this reason, when baseball pitchers come off the mound, the first thing they typically do is insert their pitching arm within the sleeve of a jacket, in order that their muscles will stay loose and warm for the next inning. Such wear is only suitable while the pitcher is off the field, however, because the wearing of apparel obscuring the uniform is prohibited by most sports regulating bodies, and because the free sleeve and remainder of the jacket would interfere with the player's ability to move properly during game play. Also, this method does not prevent cooling of the muscles while the player is on the field which can result from time gaps between uses of the muscles and from cool environmental temperatures. While fully donning the jacket would overcome some of the above-stated problems, it is often objectionable to do so because the jacket can restrict the wearer's freedom of movement and can contribute to overheating of the player.
Attempts have been made to provide devices which cover only the arm of a pitcher, in order to maintain the warmth of the arm throughout a game. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,833 to Cox et al. describes a warm-up sleeve for athletes which is designed to cover the throwing arm and shoulder of a wearer. The sleeve is apparently loose-fitting and includes a separate elastic wrist cuff portion and a strap arrangement for securing the sleeve to a wearer's body. Two strap arrangements are described, each of which extends from the lateral edges of the shoulder portion of the sleeve: in the first, the strap is designed to extend from the shoulder around the opposite side of the wearer's neck, while in the second, the strap is designed to extend from the outer edge(s) of the shoulder portion of the sleeve, around the front and rear of the wearer's torso and beneath the wearer's opposite arm. Although this sleeve would therefore be more efficient than a half-worn jacket, the straps tend to restrict full wearer movement and have a tendency to chafe and bind the regions of the wearer's body which they cover. This can in turn lead to unconscious restriction of movement by the wearer in order to minimize the chafing effect. In addition, the cuff can have a tendency to irritate the wearer's wrist region, since it tends to slide over that region as the wearer's arm is alternately bent and extended as during the pitching motion.
Other attempts at providing arm warming sleeves are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,570 to Vernon et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,087 to Kerwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,934 to Perry, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 359,835 to Hadfield, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,317 to Gray et al. The Vernon patent describes a garment having a cuffed sleeve for covering a wearer's arm and a skirt attached to the sleeve for covering the deltoid, pectoral and tarus major and minor muscles adjacent the wearer's throwing arm. The skirt is secured to the outer surface of a wearer's uniform for retention thereon when the sleeve is positioned on the wearer's arm; for example, it is described that hook type fasteners can be used on the underside of the skirt which are adapted to secure with the knit fabric typically used to form wearers' uniforms. Alternatively, it is described that mating loop fasteners can be provided on the exterior of the wearer's uniform for mating with the hook fasteners on the skirt. As will be apparent, however, the use of such fasteners thus requires the alteration of the exterior of a wearer's uniform by applying loop fasteners thereto (which is prohibited in many athletic leagues), or the garment will likely suffer damage when the hook fasteners are secured directly to the garment fabric itself.
The Kerwin patent describes a similar one-sleeved garment including a limb enclosing means, a harness and a yoke which extends around the base of a wearer's neck. The sleeve terminates in a wrist cuff, and the yoke extends rather closely around the wearer's neck, which can restrict the wearer's movements. As a result, the patent describes that the garment is removed when the athlete is called upon to perform.
The patent to Perry describes a sports sleeve in the form of a half jacket. In addition to covering the wearer's throwing arm and shoulder, the device also covers the adjacent half of the wearer's upper torso. The device includes a cuff about the free end of the sleeve, and is secured to the wearer's body by way of first and second straps. The first strap extends from a center region of the front torso covering portion, over the opposite shoulder of the wearer, and to an upper region of the rear torso covering portion, while a second single or strap pair extends horizontally from a center region of the front torso covering portion to a center region of the rear torso covering portion. Like the other prior art articles, the Perry garment is designed to be removed prior to game play.
The Hadfield patent illustrates a baseball pitcher warming sleeve in the form of an elongated tubular sleeve with a cinchable strap secured to the upper opening of the sleeve, and a cuff portion attached to the lower end of the sleeve. Because the cinchable strap extends circumferentially about the wearer's arm, it would need to be cinched tightly in order to be retained on a wearer's arm during the execution of strong motions, which would therefore render it unsuitable for use during actual game play of most sports activities.
The patent to Gray et al describes an athletic sleeve for protecting an arm or a leg of a wearer. The sleeve is in the form of an elongated tube, and includes mating fasteners along its exterior which enable the cylindrical dimension of the sleeve to be reduced around the limb after application of the sleeve. The device is illustrated as covering only the arm of a wearer, and therefore would not sufficiently warm the shoulder region of a wearer in a manner required for many applications. Furthermore, the device would tend to restrict strong movements of the wearer which require the bulging and retracting of relatively large muscles, such as the biceps, since the cylindrical dimension of the device is tightened about the wearer's arm. Therefore, the device would be ineffective for use in sports where shoulder warming is desired, and would be unsuitable for use during actual game play.